Merry-go-round.



0. W. OTT. MERRY-GO-ROUND.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 26, 1908.

Patented Nov. '30, 1909.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

C. W. OTT. MERRY-GO-ROUND.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 26, 1908.

Patented Nov. 30, 1909.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

[Elm/722W Patented Nov. 30, 1909.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES W. OTT, OF PITTSBURG, KANSAS, ASSIGNOR TO THE OTT CIRCLE SWING MFG. CO., OF GIRARD, KANSAS, A CORPORATION OF KANSAS.

MERRY-GO-BOUND.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES XV. Orr, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburg, in the county of Crawford and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Merrygo- Rounds, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to merry-go-rounds, and my object is to produce a machine of this character capable of undulatory and rotative movement and of adjustment to counterbalance persons of unequal weight, or to vary the size of the machine to suit outdoor or indoor use.

A further object is to produce a machine of this character, capable of being easily and quickly set up on a rough or uneven support as well as upon a smooth horizontal support, and in which the strain is imposed vertically downward without regard to the evenness of its support or to the distribution of the weight carried.

A further object is to produce means whereby one passenger can control the speed of travel or can prevent the operation of the machine by another passenger.

A further object is to produce adjustable seats to accommodate riders of either sex, and a still further object is to produce a machine which can be operated at a minimum expenditure of power and which is of knock-down construct-ion and embodies the desirable features of simplicity, strength, durability and cheapness.

With these general objects in View, the invention consists in certain novel and peculiar features of construction and organization as hereinafter described and claimed; and in order that it may fully be understood, reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a merry-goronnd embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a side view of the same. Fig. 3 is an enlarged central vertical section of the upper part of the machine. Fig. 4 is a horizontal section on the dotted line IV-IV of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is an inverted plan view of a part of the rotatable and undulatory frame and. a seat. carried thereby. Fig. 6 is a section on the line VI VI of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a de tail perspective view of a part of the seatcarryiug frame with a leg carried thereby.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 26, 1908.

Patented Nov. 30, 1909.

Serial No. 435,132.

Fig. 8 is a central vertical section of a part of a modified form of the machine. Fig. 9 1s a vertical section taken on the line,

IXIX of Fig. 10. Fig. 10 is a plan view.

of the construction shown by Fig. 9. Fig. 11 is a section on the line XIXI of Fig. 10. Fig. 12 is a section on the line XIL-XII of Fig. 8.

Referring to the drawings, 1 indicates three or more downwardly diverging legs arranged radially of and around a collar 2 provided with outwardly projecting ears 3 to which the upper ends of said legs are pivoted at 4.

5 is a tubular upright fitting adjustably and secured to collar 2 and provided at its lower end with holes 6 corresponding 1n number to the legs. 7 indicates bolts extending through said holes and pivotally en-..

gaging the lower end of the tubular upright 5, and connected by turn-buckles 8 with similar bolts 9 pivotally connected to eyebolts 10 secured to legs 1, these parts 7, 8 and 9 constituting adjustable braces between the upright and the legs.

11 indicates a ratchet-wheel having its teeth 12 in Figs. 1 to at inclusive on its periphery, and projecting upwardly near its periphery in Figs. Sto 11 inclusive, in which.

figures the abrupt faces of the teeth are disposed at an angle to the radius of the wheel. In each case the wheel has an upwardly projecting hub-portion 18 provided centrally with a segmental cavity 14 in its upper side,

and is also provided with a depending steinportion 15 fitting in the upper end of the tubular upright, and having a plurality of outwardly projecting lugs 16 occupying notches 17 in the upper end of the tubular.

upright, which, as will be readily understood,supports the ratchetqvheel and through said interlocking lugs and notches, locks said ratchet-wheel against rotation.

18 is an eye-bolt secured centrally to stemfor the purpose of disposing one or more of the corresponding legs nearer to or farther from the Vertical.

21 is a collar journaled on hub-portion 13 of the ratchet-wheel and provided with endportions 22 projecting beyond the periphery of said wheel and rigidly connected by one 01' more bolts 23 with a lever or levers 24, the levers shown in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, underlying the ratchet-wheel. In Figs. 8 to 1 0 inclusive, the levers are provided with extensions 25 underlying the ratchet-wheel. In Figs. 1, 2 and 4 one of the levers 24 is equipped with a pivoted pawl 26 engaging the ratchet-wheel and held yieldingly thereagainst by a spring 27.

In Figs. 8 to 11 inclusive, one of the arms of the collar 21 is provided with a rectangular opening 28 having its front wall with respect to the direction of rotation, extending downwardly and forwardly as shown at 29 in Fig. 11, one side wall terminating in a plane above the opposite wall as shown at 30 in order to permit vertical play or movement of a gravity pawl, consisting of an upwardly projecting arm 31 occupying opening 28 and a foot-portion 32 projecting through opening 30 and engaging the ratchet-wheel, which in each type of construction as hereinafter eX- plained, forms a stationary fulcrum for its pawl. In each case the levers 24 are provided with longitudinal series of holes 33 to enable the operator to attach thereto at clifferent distances from their fulcrum points, the operating cables 34.

35 is a pivot-head occupying socket 14 and provided in F 8 to 10 inclusive, with a bifurcation 3G for a purpose which hereinafter appears. A frame suspended from said pivot-head in the manner hereinafter explained, and adapted for rotatable and undulatory movement, is preferably construct ed as follows: 37 indicates a pair of parallel bars disposed at opposite sides of upright 5 and connected at their outer ends by crossbars 38 and near said ends by similar crossbars 39. Near and at opposite sides of and equal distances from upright 5, bars 37 are connected by cross-bolts 40 and mounted on said cross-bolts and disposed almost in contact with opposite sides of the upright 5, are longitudinal bars 41 which serve to guard against lateral movement of the frame with respect to the upright. 42 are spacing blocks mounted on bolts 40 between guard-bars 41, and 43 are spacing blocks mounted on said bolts between said guard-bars and the side bars 37 of the frame.

In Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, 44 indicates a pair of upwardly converging frames mounted on bolts 40 and secured rigidly by a bolt 45 to the pivot-head 35. The upper ends of frames 44 are also connected by bolts 46 at opposite sides of the pivot-head 35.

Slidable end frames are fitted snugly between the side bars 37 and each consists of side bars 47 slidably mounted between and held against independent teetering by the cross-bars 38 and 39, and connected at their inner ends by Crossbars 48 and at their outer ends by the superposed seats 49, the cross-bars 48 by engagement with cross bars 39, limiting outward slidable movement, it being noted in this connection that the three frames described constitute an extensible and contractible seat-carrying frame. For securing seats 49 to the outer ends of the slidable members of said extensible and contractible frame so that they may face inwardly or laterally, each seat is provided on its under side with a bracket 50 having depending sets of cars 51 and 52, either set being adapted to fit between the bars 47 and be secured thereto by a cross bolt 53.

If desired the machine may be provided with foot rests shown in Fig. 2 and constructed as follows: 54 are angle-plates de pending from the inner and outer edges of the seats. 55 are longitudinal bars secured to said angle-plates and projecting inwardly therefrom and carrying at their inner ends the cross-bars 5G to directly support the feet of the riders.

To enable one to more conveniently occupy a seat, the slidable sections 47 may be provided with folding legs 57 having forwardly projecting offsets 58 at their upper ends pivoted to bars 47 to permit said legs to be folded upwardly to substantially the position shown by dotted lines at the righthand end of Fig. 2, when not in use. Retractile springs 59 connect legs 57 with bars 47 for the purpose of automatically folding said legs when the opposite end of the tilting frame is depressed, it being understood that, by preference, only one of the sliding sections will be equipped with such legs, and it being also understood that the occupant of the seat contiguous to the said legs must first disengage the pivoted links 60 of the logs from the hooks 61 depending from bars 47, these links and hooks being necessary in order to holdthe legs in operative position until the adjacent seat is occupied.

G2 are pins flexibly connected to bars 37 to avoid chances of misplacement, which pins are adapted to be fitted through opening ()3 in bars 37 and through alined openings 64 in the side bars 47 of the slidable sections to permit the latter to be secured at the desired points of adjustment, it being understood that when the occupants of the machine are of materially different weights it is desirable to counterbalance them, approximately at least, by sliding outward the section equipped with the seat occupied by the lighter person.

65 denotes a. pair of bars pivoted at their upper ends upon bolts 46 and extending downwardly and outwardly and provided with notches 66 in their upper edges and with cross-bars 67 at their lower ends.

68 is a doubled wire or equivalent brace extending slidingly through bars 67 and engaging certain of the notches 66 of bars 65, the lower ends of said wires 68 being secured in any suitable manner to the undersides of the seats 49, these bars 65 and wires 68 forming an adjustable truss-brace in conjunction with frames 44:, for the seat-carrying frame. heneither of the slidable sections of said frame is moved outward or inward, its brace 68 is disengaged from the accompanying bar 65 and then reengaged with a different notch of said bar, as will be readily understood.

69 are brackets secured to bars 4L7 as convenient means for attaching to the said bars the outer ends of cables 34, and said cables are provided with handles 70 which are grasped by the occupants of the seats for the purpose of propelling the machine, it being understood that the cables 34 in operative positions, will extend directly from levers 2t toward the seats, the parts of the cable between the seats and the handles 7 0 hanging inoperatively downward.

71 is a stiff retractile spring connecting a lever 2st with a bar 65 and normally holding the levers in substantially the positions shown in Fig. 1, so that when an operator grasps and pulls upon one of the handles 7 0 he causes the seat-carrying frame to rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow, Fig. 1 and incidentally stretch the spring 71 because as hereinbefore stated, the ratchetwheel is stationary and the lever under such pulling strain cannot move. As soon, however, as the pull of said handle is released the stretched spring 71 retracts and draws the lever with it, the pawl slipping inoperatively over the teeth of the ratchet-wheel. The next and all succeeding pulls on the handles result in repetitions of the operation described and as a result the rotation of the seat-carrying frame is continuous, the rapidity of operation depending, of course, on the power applied and on the time elapsing between the pulling operations, as will be readily understood.

Assuming that both seats are occupied and that the machine is equipped with two lever connections, it will be seen that the occupants of the machine may cotiperate in its propulsion, or that one operator by holding his flexible connection under tension can defeat the efforts of the other operator to pro pel the machine, it being furthermore apparent, that one of the operators may also, in an obvious manner, prevent the other from operating the machine at an undesirable speed, by simply retensioning his pulling cable before the retractile spring has time to pull said lever its full distance.

The seatcarrying frame is capable of ency on the part of the machine to tip over.

The pins 62, when inserted through the main and slidable sections of the frame, effectually overcome any tendency of the seats to move outward while the apparatus is 111 motion. In actual practice the pin 62 instead of extending through the holes 63 of bars 37 may be carried by bars +l7 and press inwardly against the opposite ends of bars 37, as shown in Fig. 8.

The machine may be so proportioned that it may be used in a room when the slidable sections occupy their innermost points of adjustment and may be slid outward to increase the sweep of the seats when used out of doors.

In the modified construction illustrated in Figs. 8 to 12, the guard-bars are numbered 7 2 and are mounted at their ends on vertical bolts 73 carried by cross-bars 74 connecting bars 37. In said construction in lieu of frames etet, I preferably employ equivalent frames consisting of crossed bars 75 bolted at their ends to bars 37 and to each other at their crossing points, as at 76. At their upper ends the bars 75 are attached to crossbolts 77 corresponding in function to bolts 46, and mounted on bolts 77 is a bar 78 occupying the bifurcation 36 of pivot-head 35 as shown, and secured to said pivot-head by bolt 45. The ends of bar 78 terminate in upturned hooks 79 adapted to be engaged by links of chains 80 connected by rods 81 and straps 82 to the side-bars of the slidable sections of the seat-carrying frame. In said construction said sections are also equipped with cross-bars 83 upon which are pivotally mounted seats 8% having guard-rails 85, wing-nuts engaging the seat-pivots S7 to clamp the seats in the desired positions.

In the operation of a machine of the modified type the pawl 32 will slide inoperatively over the teeth of the ratchet-wheel as each pull of the operating cable is relaxed the said pawl assuming the position shown by dotted lines Fig. 11 as it rides over each tooth of the ratchet-wheel.

In actual practice the tendency of the frame is to revolve horizontally without teetering movement because the mechanism for imparting the rotary movement is disposed above the plane of the seats, so that the pull is substantially in the plane of the point of hearing, it being obvious that if the actuating mechanism was below the pl anc of the point of bearing, the result would be a constant teetering as well as rotary movement. It being understood of course that a constant teetering movement is desired, 1 reserve the right to dispose the actuating mechanism materially below the point of bearing.

It will be obvious, of course, that the ma chine may be equipped with additional seats or there may be more seat-carrying frames employed in order to increase the carrying capacity of the machine, and when the latter is not in use it can be readily disposed in knock-down condition for convenience of storage or transportation.

From the above description it will be apparent that I have produced a merry-goround embodying the features of advantage enumerated as desirable, and which obviously may be changed in various parts without departing from the principle of construction involved.

Having thus described the invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A merry-go-round comprising an upright, an extensible and contractible frame capable of rotary movement about the same, supports for the frame pivotally mounted on the upper end of the upright and depending therefrom, seats at the outer ends of said frame, and means for moving said frame.

2. A merry-go-round comprising anupright, a ratchet-wheel secured on the up right and having an upwardly extending hub provided with a segmental cavity in its upper end, a collar journaled on said hub, a lever secured to and extending from the collar, a pawl moving with the lever and the collar and engaging the ratchet wheel, a swing-frame provided with a central pivothead engaging the cavity in the hub of the ratchet-wheel and having a seat at its outer end, and a handle-equipped cable extending from the lever to the seat.

3. A merry-go-round, comprising an upright suitably supported, a frame consisting of a main section pivotally suspended from the upright and capable of rotary movement, a pair of sections slidably carried by the main section and provided with seats at their outer ends, and an extensible and contractible truss-brace connecting the main and slidable sections, a ratchet wheel rigid with the upright, a lever bearing a journaled relation to the upright and ratchet wheel, a pawl carried by the lever and engaging the ratchet wheel, and a retractile spring connected to the lever and tending to swing the same in such direction as to cause the pawl to slip inoperativcly over the teeth of the ratchet wheel.

t. A merry-go-round, comprising an up right, a frame pivotally suspended from the upright and rotatable about the same and provided with slidable sections movable toward and from the upright and equipped with seats at their outer ends, an adjustable truss-brace connecting the frame and its sections, means adapted to be pulled upon by one of the occupants to impart rotation to said frame, and means for causing the said rotating means to travel in the same direction as said frame as soon as the pulling strain is released.

5. A merry-go-round, comprising an upright, a ratchet wheel rigid with the upright, a lever bearing a journaled relation with said upright and ratchet wheel and provided with a pawl engaging the latter, a frame pivotally suspended from the upright and rotatable about the same and provided with slidable sections movable toward and from the upright and equipped with seats at their outer ends, an adjustable trussbrace connecting the frame and its sections, means connected to said lever and adapted to be pulled upon by one of the occupants to impart rotation to said frame, and a retractile spring connecting the lever with the truss-brace for causing the lever to rotate in the same direction as said frame as soon as the pulling strain on the former is relaxed, to dispose the pawl in engagement with a different tooth of the ratchet wheel to form a fulcrum in the next pulling operation.

6. A merry-goaound, comprising an upright, a seat-carrying frame, guard bars carried by said frame at opposite sides of the upright, a ratchet wheel secured upon the upper end of the upright, a lever journaled to turn horizontally around said ratchet wheel, a pawl carried by said lever and yieldingly engaging the ratchet wheel, a pivot-head pivotally and rockingly engaging a socket in the face of the ratchet wheel, a rigid framework secured to the pivot-head at its upper end and to the seat-carrying frame at its lower end, connections between the upper end of the rigid framework and the outer ends of the seat-carrying frame, a cable attached to said lever and adapted to be pulled upon by a person occupying one of said seats, a retractile spring connecting said lever with one of the said connections and adapted to be stretched or tensioned as the latter rotates with the frame and as a pulling strain is imposed on said lever, and to retract and rotate said lever and pawl in the same direction as the seatcarrying frame when said pulling strain is relaxed, and foot-rests carried by and projecting from said seats in the direction which the occupants of the seats face.

7. A merry-go-round, comprising an upright, a seat-carrying frame, guard bars carried by said frame at opposite sides of the upright, a ratchet wheel secured upon the upper end of the upright, a lever journaled to turn horizontally around said ratchet wheel, a pawl carried by said lever and yieldingly engaging the ratchet wheel, a pivothead pivotally and rockingly engaging a socket in the face of the ratchet-wheel, a rigid framework secured to the pivothead at its upper end and to the said frame at its lower end, connections between the upper end of said framework and the outer ends of said frame, a cable attached to said lever and adapted to be pulled upon by a person occupying one of said seats, and a retraetile spring connecting said lever with one of the said connections and adapted to be stretched or tensioned as the latter rotates with the frame and as a pulling strain is imposed on said lever, and to retract and rotate said lever and pawl in the same direction as the seat-carrying frame when said pulling strain is relaxed.

8. A merry-go-round comprising an upright, an extensible seatcarrying frame, means for freely suspending the said frame from the upper end of the upright, and extensible braces between the upper end of the upright and the outer ends of the seatcarrying frame.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES lV. OTT. l/Vitnesses D. O. MUNsoN, I'IANNAH M. REESE. 

